Elementary S2ep10 ‘Tremors’ Review!

It has been a while since I have posted an Elementary review. To break my habit of posting reviews of Almost Human, Person of Interest and Sleepy Hollow I’ll try Elementary again as a one-off. If you think it is any good please leave a comment below.

So far…

Elementary is deep into its second season and so far it hasn’t disappointed at all. I have indicated before that I thought the storyline of Irene/Moriarty from season 1 was a bit weak. Season 2 has so far delved mostly into the personal background of Sherlock and Joan. Sherlock’s relationship with his brother Mycroft has certainly been a pleasure to watch. However, there has been a lot of foreshadowing of events to come. The last scene of Mycroft in episode 8 ‘Blood Is Thicker’ had him on a phone with a person who presumably was not his elusive father but someone desperate to get Sherlock back to London. Other scenes seem to indicate that we also haven’t seen the last of Irene/Moriarty. So now let’s go over to the review of episode 10 ‘Tremors’.

Tremors

Sherlock finds himself in court trying to explain whether a breach of protocol can see him to continue to work for the NYPD. He has not been formally charged. It quickly becomes clear that Detective Bell has been shot while working on a case with Sherlock and Watson. As both reminisce in court about how they eventually caught the killer of a woman accusation are made that they breached the law getting evidence. A Mr. Dillon who works for an insurance company is particularly angry after he is fired when Holmes discovers he was a felon. As the case in court continues Watson questions Sherlock’s reluctance in visiting Bell at the hospital. Bell is only making a slow recovery but seems to pull through. During Watson’s final testimony she reveals that Dillon tried to shoot Sherlock in front of the precinct but Bell caught the bullet instead. The recommendation the judge makes is that Sherlock and Watson should not continue as NYPD consultants because their impropriety is a danger to police officers. Sherlock finally meets with detective Bell. Sherlock says that the police commissioner did not follow through on the judge’s recommendation not in the least because many cases would have to be reopened. Sherlock tries to get Bell seek expert medical attention but Bell storms off and says he doesn’t want to see Sherlock back at the hospital.

Conclusion

This episode of Elementary gets rid of the superhuman image that Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlock has fostered during the last season and a half. For the first time his tactics and deductive ability gets an innocent person hurt by a bullet that was meant for him. We will have to wait for the fallout of this episode but I can see detective Bell ‘s role enlarged in the future. In the past he often teamed up with Joan on so-called side cases but I think they can also make for an effective team on larger cases.

This episode of Elementary has its fair share of secondary characters that seem bewildered by Sherlock’s abilities without being too taken in with it. Both the judge and the police commissioner make for an interesting break with past episodes and this discontinuity of the established procedural elements of the show make for a welcome break

Score; 8.5 / 10. A very effective episode that sees Sherlock falter because of his abilities.